Page 5 of A Very Mountain Man Wooing

I reach my hand out, not feeling brave enough to open my eyes yet, and more bed greets me.

“Crap,” I whisper.

“What?” Comes a deep voice that I recognize instantly.

The sound and smell of him are doing funny things to me. I’ve always felt drawn to Whit, but I know I can’t be with him. I can’t be with anyone. I know that my parents will find me eventually, and then I’ll only be putting everyone close to me in danger.

I’ve been trying to work on my independence too. I’ve had someone else watching over me and making all my decisions since I was born. Escaping my family was the start of me living my own life. I just finally gained some independence, and I know Whit well enough to know that he would always be chasing after me, insisting on doing everything for me. We’re not even together, and he’s already following me around. Though, I do probably owe him a thank you for taking care of me last night.

“I said crap,” I mumble, and I hear Whit laugh as he moves closer to my side of the bed. “How bad is it?”

“How bad is what?” He asks, and I pull the pillow over my head.

“Anise?” Whit asks, tugging the pillow off of my head.

I hiss at him, and he laughs.

I love that he finds me funny. No one back home ever really got me. Whit seems to though. I love our banter.

“Not a morning person, or is this all the hangover talking?” He asks.

“Both?”

“I made you coffee.”

“You’re an angel, Whit. A true angel.”

“Are you getting up?” He asks after a minute of neither one of us moving.

“Is the sun still out there attacking people all willy nilly?”

“Yep. Want me to talk to him? Tell the sun to beat it?” He asks, and I grin.

“Would you mind?”

“I’ll close the curtains.”

I nod, the movement causing my head to protest, and I groan as he drags the curtains closed.

“My hero,” I say, and he chuckles like I’m joking.

The truth is that he kind of is my hero. He always seems to be there when I need someone and I know that if I was ever in danger, I could turn to him.

“Aspirin is on the bedside table. Do you want something besides coffee?”

“How about a time machine?”

“I’ll get started on that right now.”

My stomach flips because I know that if I had asked for something real, Whit wouldn’t have hesitated to give it to me.

This man would do anything for me and here I am pushing him away.

God, I’m an idiot. I guess my family was right…

I push myself up in bed and shriek when I see that I’m in his t-shirt.

“Did we have sex last night?” I shout, and he’s already shaking his head.

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